I thought I’d post a heart rate graph from a snowshoe race I did in Silverthorne, CO this past Sunday called the Swift Skedaddle.  I was wearing my Timex BodyLink and Data Recorder and it very accurately tracked my heart rate including my warm up and warm down.  The race was a 10K covering roads, single track, and lots of up hill.  I was feeling good for most of the way and had a comfortable lead until the last 2K when I could hear another guy catching up to me.  The course started to head downhill at that point so I knew I had to give it some more speed.  Just before the finish, the course brought us to a drainage pipe that we had to crawl through and finally headed to the finish line!  Not good for people with claustrophobia I might add.  As you’ll see on the graph, I was pushing between 200-220 HR for the last 5 minutes or so.  Luckily I dug VERY deep and edged him out for the overall win!  It was a fun time and was also glad I got to race with my sister-in-law Jenni as well who placed 4^th in her age group!  Way to go Jenni!  Be sure to check out http://www.timex.com/ for a full description of the BodyLink and the Data Recorder.  In summary, the Data Recorder is a very lightweight training tool that allows you to store 72 hours of heart rate information, 26 hours of speed and distance info, and 14 hours of combined heart rate and speed and distance data!
 

Thanks for reading!
 

Tim 

“This is that good feeling, the feeling of pain,” this week’s interviewee said to me as we ran intervals on a dusty trail last summer. Then she flew off into the distance, enjoying her pain. I am pretty sure that is the mantality that made this week’s interviewee the world-class athlete that she is. Desiree Ficker is not only a triathlon dominator, she is also pretty darn funny (see below for details).

LT: Please share any childhood experiences you had as a ballerina/girl scout/cheerleader.

DF: I was a Brownie in first and second grade. I remember being annoyed that I had to wear my Brownie uniform to school on the same day we had to do the timed rope climb in gym because it slowed me down.

LT: When you were in fourth grade, what did you want to be when you grew up?

DF: I wanted to be a teacher during the school year and an ice cream man in the summer, so I could have all the free ice cream I wanted! That was a lot of progress from first grade when I wanted to be a ditchdigger.

LT: Have you ever forgotten anything in transition? i.e. taken off on the run with your helmet still on, put your helmet on with your cap still on, etc.

DF: No, but I heard there was a guy in Lake Placid who forgot to put on anything under his wetsuit and the strippers stripped off his suit. I sometimes have the feeling that I might have done that.

LT: Have you ever been arrested? Feel free to elaborate.

DF: Never, no, although, a girl did try to punch me once when I ate some of her french fries out at a bar. That was the closest I ever came to that sort of “fun”.

LT: Have you ever run over a prairie dog while riding your bike?

DF: Never a prairie dog, but unfortunately a possum. I was riding my mountain bike home one night in the dark and the little sucker was crossing the road so fast I went right over him. It was as if he went right through my hands! It was just awful. The last vision I had was of his extremely long rat like tail smashed on the road. Bleeeaa!

LT: When you found out that Andy Baldwin was going to be the Bachelor, did you consider applying to be on the show?

DF: Andy is too good looking for my taste :)

LT: Anything else you would like to add?

DF: Laura Tingle rocks and she is really good at putting up with Simon Lessing’s harassment :)

LT: Oh, stop

Yesterday I ate a lot of pizza.  You see, it’s been about a year that I wanted to tackle the Beau Jo’s Pizza Challenge here in Highlands Ranch and I finally got my wish this past New Years Day.  It’s a 12 lb. pizza overloaded with hamburger, sausage, pepperoni, onion, mushrooms, and green peppers.  If you and one other person can finish it in 1 hour, you win $100 and a t-shirt.  Otherwise it’ll cost $68.50.  So me and our Timex team photographer, Jon “Rambo” Robichaud, gave it a shot.  I figured we could do this since we burn tons of calories in our workouts causing deep hunger.  To make a long story short, we ate just shy of 6 pounds of pizza, but we still get our picture on the wall for attempting it.  The pictures here show the pizza, and some before, during, and after shots of our indulgence.  We had about 16 friends there to cheer us on, not including the restaurant patrons who glanced at us occasionally thinking we were crazy for attempting such a feat.  It turned out that I went from 170.5 lbs before eating to 176.5 lbs. after I finished. Yes, I gained 6 lbs. in 1 hour.  I try to keep my life interesting and fun, and this definitely was fun…well, at least most of the time.
 
Have a good New Year,
 
Tim